Glenn Campbell.
(Image credit: Gaye Gerard/Getty Images)

Singer and guitarist Glen Campbell, the Grammy winner behind such hits as "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Wichita Lineman," died Tuesday, following a "long and courageous battle with Alzheimer's disease," his family announced in a statement. He was 81.

Over a career that spanned six decades, Campbell sold more than 45 million records, and before making his own albums he was a famed sessions player, appearing on such hits as Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling." In 2011, Campbell revealed he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and he embarked on a farewell tour, playing 151 shows.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.